Sweet Cheeks Winery Hosts Spring Release Gathering in Lane County
About 400 wine club members visited the Eugene area winery over one weekend, highlighting how Sweet Cheeks has grown into more than a place to taste wine.
Sweet Cheeks Winery brought in about 200 wine club members on Saturday and another 200 on Sunday for its spring release weekend, turning its patio into a busy gathering place just west of Eugene. Guests came for the new wines, but the bigger story was the kind of atmosphere the winery has built over time. Friends met up, families spent the afternoon together, and visitors settled in with a view of the valley as winter gave way to spring.
That community feeling is closely tied to how the winery began. Founder Dan Smith did not come from a wine background. He worked in refrigeration and later built technology that helped wineries and breweries control fermentation. What pulled him toward wine was not prestige, but the way it could bring people together. After first planning to grow grapes and sell them, he decided the hillside needed to be shared and built the winery instead.
That decision still shapes the place today. Sweet Cheeks remains a family run business, and one of the central figures in its story is winemaker Leo Gabica. Leo moved from the Philippines to Oregon in the 1990s and entered the wine world without formal training, first working on the bottling line and repairing equipment before growing into a winemaking role. He became Sweet Cheeks' first employee, helped finish the patio before opening, and now oversees both the vineyard and the cellar.
The release weekend reflected that blend of family story and local identity. Guests tasted a lineup that included the 2024 Estate Dry Riesling, the 2025 Pinot Noir Rosé, the 2023 Reserve Pinot Noir, Rosy Cheeks, and a newly released Chardonnay. But the event was not framed as a formal tasting room exercise. People could order pizza from Oregon Wood Fired Pizza, relax outside, meet Leo in person, and move through the afternoon at their own pace.
That easygoing approach matters in a region where food, farming, and gathering places are part of local life. Sweet Cheeks describes its wines as approachable, and the weekend seemed built around that idea. The goal was not to make wine feel exclusive. It was to make it feel social and familiar, whether someone came to discuss vintages in detail or simply wanted a glass with friends.
For Lane County residents, that may be the clearest reason Sweet Cheeks has carved out a lasting place for itself. The winery is rooted in a local family story, shaped by an immigrant winemaker's rise through hands on work, and sustained by a business model that leans heavily on hospitality. On release weekend, that translated into something simple and recognizable: a full patio, a lot of conversation, and a local business doing what many good local places do best, giving people a reason to spend time together.
For those in Lane County who want to visit or learn more about upcoming events, wine releases, or reservations, more information is available on the winery’s official site: sweetcheekswinery.com
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